Nut-Free Raw Brownies with Chocolate Hemp-Seed Butter Filling

Overall, we would certainly call ourselves healthy eaters in the Holden household, (Abiline requested kale for dinner last night), and--in my opinion--chocolate is part of a healthy diet.  Take these raw brownies for example: they are a great way to eat super-nutritious seeds and buckwheat. And with the dates and banana in there, I almost count this as a serving of fruit for Abbie (who reaches for veggies while turning up her nose to almost any fruit not in smoothie form). The raw brownie idea is certainly not new, but they seem to always be made out of nuts, which of course doesn't work in our allergy-friendly kitchen.  Fortunately, the seeds worked well in this recipe; both Sawyer and Abiline devoured these brownies for snack today and protested when I said we were going to give some of them to a friend.  Of course we talked about how it is good to share, but I was secretly pleased that the kids liked the brownies enough to grab for the bag and look worried at the prospect of losing them.

For the brownie layers:
1 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
1 cup raw, shelled hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds (I used about 1/3 cup of each, but this is variable depending on what you have on hand.)
3 Tbsp. cocoa or carob powder (I did 2 Tbsp. cocoa and 1 Tbsp carob, as I like the fruity accent the carob gives.)
pinch of sea salt
1 cup dates, soaked for an hour to soften them up, then drained
1-2 Tbsp. agave nectar, as needed to bring the dough together 

For the chocolate hemp-seed butter filling:
1/2 cup raw, shelled hemp seeds
1/2 medium banana
1/4 cup raisins, soaked for an hour to soften them up, then drained
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder, or 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder and 1 Tbsp. carob powder, if you like the carob undertone like I do

1. Grind the buckwheat and seeds to a fine powder in your food processor. Add the cocoa powder and salt and pulse to incorporate. Add the softened dates and 1 Tbsp. agave and buzz until everything is well-combined, and you have a dough that is moist and holds together well when you press it into a ball.  If it is dry, add additional agave until it holds together.
2.  Line a workspace with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the food processor work bowl and divide it into two equal portions on the parchment paper. Use your hands to press each piece of dough into a rectangle about 7x10 inches, a bit smaller than your standard piece of computer paper.
3. Make the filling by buzzing all of the ingredients together in your food processor until smooth. Spread the filling evenly over one of the brownie layers and place the other rectangle on top to make your brownie sandwich. Using a sharp knife, cut into even squares. These are pretty rich; I made about 1 1/2 dozen squares.

 Here is Abiline's "Please give me more brownie!" face. By the looks of it, she had already had enough...

This recipe is posted to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays ,Allergy-Free Wednesdays , Whole Foods Wednesdays and Wellness Weekend.